Why?

Is it necessary for youth fitness or athletic development?

I  specifically chose this activity for the Saturday morning class for several reasons:

FUN.  If we have any chance of instilling long term health and fitness in our children we have to start with what is fun for them.  One of the biggest mistakes many youth fitness programs make is taking the fun out of fitness by offering watered down adult programs for children with sets, reps, seat adjustments, blah blah blah – BORING!  Dodgeball is game most of us grew up with and would agree it is a ton of fun!

Coordination -The notion that a child is either coordinated or not is a myth.  There are many aspects to coordination, all of which can be broken down and taught.  A young child has the distinct advantage of having a central nervous system (CNS) that is still plastic.  This means the CNS is able to learn and adapt at a rapid rate – sending an recieving messages and feedback from the brain to muscles and vise versa.  Spatial awareness, rhythm, reactivity and balance are some of the factors that are enhanced greatly with game like dodgeball.

Movement- Think of all the great movement a young athletes body must make to navigate a game of dodgeball.  They must travel forward, backward and side to side.  They must accelerate and decelerate (slow down) and change direction.  Young athletes must change elevation by jumping or squating.  Dodgeball covers it all!

As with EVERY activity chosen for our classes at Athletic Revolution…there is a reason behind it.  The reason will be consistent with the end goal in mind:

DEVELOPING THE CHAMPIONS OF TOMORROW!

Until next time…

-Dave